RESIDENTS whose homes border the Hinkley Point C Nuclear power plant construction site will be given bespoke earplugs to make their lives “bearable”.

The people living in Shurton and Burton – the hamlets closest to the construction site – have described the noise of the building work as intolerable and applied for a grant of £2,640 to contribute towards bespoke earplugs.

EDF Energy, the French company behind the nuclear power project at Hinkley C, has already double glazed the windows of some of the residents who will be most affected by the noise, but residents feel that they are unable to enjoy their gardens.

Mrs Lesley Flash, 68, a resident of Shurton for the past 10 years, trialled the ACS PRO earplugs herself after she found that she could not enjoy being outside her home.

She said: “I appreciate that EDF double glazed our windows, but the noise is unbearable when you have the windows open or if you’re in the garden.

“I tried normal earplugs and iPods and headphones but nothing worked.

“I bought these earplugs and they’ve been great.

“I understand that not everyone is sensitive to the noise but it just means that we can enjoy being outside again.

“We will only have to use them hopefully for a few years whilst the groundwork is being done.”

The noise levels at the site are capped at 65db and the earplugs, which costs £80 per set and require personalised fittings, claim to reduce the noise by 27-33 db.

After gaining support from Stogursey Parish Council, 33 other residents also put their names down for a pair.

The money, which is recommended for approval at a full council meeting next Wednesday, will come from the Stogursey Contribution Fund – a sum of money ring fenced from the Community Impact Mitigation (CIM) fund. The CIM fund has been given to West Somerset Council by EDF energy to distrubute to parish councils to mitigate the impact of Hinkley Point C